12/05/2023 – 14/05/2023 – Wales Coast to Coast

It all started with an email from a colleague, Dan, just before Christmas. It was a GPX file for a route from Llandudno down to the office in Cardiff spread over 3 days.

This was all very new to me, routes were done for me, the plan was in place. All I had to do was make sure that my bike functioned, turn up and ride.

I gladly accepted as did 2 others, Dave and Ryan. We then went about getting the odd training ride in before the start however the route that Dan had chosen was especially hilly which was hard to replicate after work so we made do with what we had.

Dan hired a van and after work on the Thursday we trundled up to the north coast of Wales in search of a very dated hotel, a Wetherspoons and the start of an adventure.

We checked in and were shown our rooms which were modern by the standards of 1970 and headed to the Wetherspoons that was in quite a remarkable building except for the fact that the inside was covered in scaffolding, presumably to try and reinforce it to prevent it falling in on itself.

The Thursday regulars were there in their droves as we tucked into out slap up meal and pints (Guinness for me) and then headed back for a good nights sleep.

The included breakfast was hard to describe. The best way to describe it would be the smell, the extremely identifiable smell of an English fry up in a very cheap cafe/hotel/B&B. Something which was not conducive to my vegan diet but thankfully could munch on some toast, jam and bananas.

Day 1 would be just shy of 150km with 3,200m of elevation which was kicked off with a loop of the Great Orme, no trip to Llandudno should go without one.

The day started dry, warm and flat with a small hill at 25km in to open the legs and prepare us for what was to come. We headed south past Llanwrst to then get cracking on the first mountain of the trip.

It was a great day to be riding bikes and the scenery was doing the weather justice and we climbed up to 300m and then headed out on the rural roads through the middle of the mountains out west gaining yet more elevation before turning back to head east to Bala which proved to be the home of a Spar, one of many visits to the Spar franchise over the 3 days.

After a quick restock 88km in we were well fuelled for the remaining half of the ride to Dolgellau.

We headed back up to Lake Vymwy and then down Bwlch y Groes which was absolutely stunning. One of the nicest descents I’ve done with spectacular scenery and smooth roads.

We then only had 2 further smaller climbs through Aberllefenni to our glamping pods in Dolgellau which was a small room with 3 bunk beds in.

We arrived in good time and I managed to fall over whilst going 2mph on some loose stones very unglamorously. After a quick shower and clean of our kit, we popped into town for a good meal and a couple more Guinness.

A taxi ride back from town and up the hill meant that we made it back in good time to get some good sleep before another hilly day.

In order to restock we stopped by the only “EuroSPAR” in Wales which was a real treat. We only had 140km to do today with a mild 2,300m in climbing.

We set off straight into a climb out west to the coast to do a loop to Machynlleth for second breakfast and a cool down as it was starting to get quite hot.

The next stop was Nant-y-Moch Reservoir which we managed after a slight routing error or two. Heading down a dead end, ending up on some “Gucci Gravel” and having to take a hike a bike section to get onto a parallel gravel route but the views were worth it.

We swung round and avoided a tour bus of tourists and headed down the valley to Ponterwyd where we visited yet another SPAR.

A couple more climbs were left for us in for the afternoon before we made it to the Elan Valley and the Craig Coch Dam.

A relaxing ride into Rhayader where we tucked into a nice dinner and some Guinness.

The hills of Wales and previous rides meant that my front brake was acting a bit funny so checked and it was very worn out.

With help from Dan, we changed my first ever disc brake and was easier than I thought and made the last day a lot safer.

With one day left and 140km to do, we set off just after 8 and the first few hours were reasonably flat almost following the River Wye down south.

We stopped in Builth Wells for second breakfast and were left with a big climb to do straight away with cafe legs.

The route took us through country lanes all the way to Brecon where we managed to find an American style waffle and crepes cafe which replenished the calories we’d burned and then some.

With the last real climb of the trip ahead of us going up from Talybont Reservoir to Pontsticill Reservoir. The clouds started to darken and the first drops of rain fell just as we started up the climb.

The legs were pretty tired after a couple of hilly days and this was the final kicker. The climb wasn’t the longest in the world but there were some really steep sections that really kicked hard.

We were rewarded though with some great views and the knowledge that what goes up must go down.

The road meandered its way down to Merthyr which (thankfully) we skirted around and began our way into more familiar roads and road on top of the valleys all the way back to Cardiff. there were a few more road users than planned in the shape of sheep which did cause a few quick grabs of the brakes for Dave.

The Taff trail took us home to the familiar sight of the office, not a sight we normally see on a Sunday but a welcome one at that.

After a quick chat and a goodbye we headed home to relax and reminisce over a great weekend seeing the sights of Wales.